Preparation

Opening response

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,to you be praise and glory forever.As once you ransomed your people from Egyptand led them to freedom in the promised land,so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darknessand brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son.May we, the first fruits of your new creation,rejoice in this new day you have made,and praise you for your mighty acts.Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.Blessed be God forever.

The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,so may the light of your presence, O God,set our hearts on fire with love for you;now and forever.Amen.

Give me on thee to call,Always to watch and pray,Lest I into temptation fall,And cast my shield away;For each assault preparedAnd ready may I be,Forever standing on my guard,And looking up to thee.

O do thou always warnMy soul of evil near!When to the right or left I turn,Thy voice still let me hear;"Come back! this is the way,Come back, and walk herein!"O may I hearken and obey,And shun the paths of sin!

Confession of sin

Come, Holy Spirit of God,and search our hearts with the light of Christ.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said:The first commandment is this:‘Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’

The second is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’No other commandment is greater than these.All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.

Amen. Lord, have mercy.

After a period of reflection

Come, let us return to the Lord and say:

Lord our God,in our sin we have avoided your call.Our love for you is like a morning cloud,like the dew that goes away early.Have mercy on us;deliver us from judgment;bind up our wounds and revive us;in Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.

cf Hosea 6

May almighty God,who sent his Son into the world to save sinners,bring us his pardon and peace, now and forever.Amen.

The Word of God

Psalm 19

Refrain:The Lord’s commands are pure, giving light to the eyes.

Heaven is declaring God’s glory; the sky is proclaiming his handiwork.One day gushes the news to the next, and one night informs another what needs to be known.Of course, there’s no speech, no words— their voices can’t be heard— but their sound extends throughout the world; their words reach the ends of the earth.God has made a tent in heaven for the sun.The sun is like a groom coming out of his honeymoon suite; like a warrior, it thrills at running its course.It rises in one end of the sky; its circuit is complete at the other. Nothing escapes its heat.The Lord’s Instruction is perfect, reviving one’s very being.The Lord’s laws are faithful, making naive people wise.The Lord’s regulations are right, gladdening the heart.The Lord’s commands are pure, giving light to the eyes.Honoring the Lord is correct, lasting forever.The Lord’s judgments are true. All of these are righteous!They are more desirable than gold— than tons of pure gold! They are sweeter than honey— even dripping off the honeycomb!No doubt about it: your servant is enlightened by them; there is great reward in keeping them.But can anyone know what they’ve accidentally done wrong? Clear me of any unknown sin and save your servant from willful sins. Don’t let them rule me.Then I’ll be completely blameless; I’ll be innocent of great wrongdoing.Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:The Lord’s commands are pure, giving light to the eyes.

Psalm prayer

Christ, the sun of righteousness,rise in our hearts this day,enfold us in the brightness of your loveand bear us at the last to heaven’s horizon;for your love’s sake.

Psalm 147:1-11

Refrain:Our Lord is great and so strong!

Praise the Lord! Because it is good to sing praise to our God! Because it is a pleasure to make beautiful praise!The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem, gathering up Israel’s exiles.God heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.God counts the stars by number, giving each one a name.Our Lord is great and so strong! God’s knowledge can’t be grasped!The Lord helps the poor, but throws the wicked down on the dirt!Sing to the Lord with thanks; sing praises to our God with a lyre!God covers the skies with clouds; God makes rain for the earth;God makes the mountains sprout green grass. God gives food to the animals— even to the baby ravens when they cry out.God doesn’t prize the strength of a horse; God doesn’t treasure the legs of a runner.No. The Lord treasures the peoplewho honor him, the people who wait for his faithful love.

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:Our Lord is great and so strong!

Psalm prayer

Compassionate God,as you know each star you have created,so you know the secrets of every heart;in your loving mercy bring to your tableall who are fearful and broken,all who are wounded and needy,that our hungers may be satisfiedin the city of your peace;through Christ who is our peace.

Old Testament readingDeuteronomy 17:8-20

If some legal dispute in your cities is too difficult for you to decide—say, between different kinds of bloodshed, different kinds of legal ruling, or different kinds of injury—then take it to the location the Lord your God selects. Go to the levitical priests and to the head judge in office at that time and look into things there. They will announce to you the correct ruling. You must then act according to the ruling they announced to you from that location, the one the Lord selects. You must follow very carefully everything they instruct you to do. Act precisely according to the instruction they give you and the ruling they announce to you. Don’t deviate even a bit from the word they announce. And whoever acts rashly by not listening to the priest who is in office serving the Lord your God or to the head judge will die. Remove such evil from Israel! All the people will hear about this and be afraid. They won’t act arrogantly anymore.

Once you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you and you have taken possession of it and settled down in it, you might say: “Let’s appoint a king over us, as all our neighboring nations have done.” You can indeed appoint over you a king that the Lord your God selects. You can appoint over you a king who is one of your fellow Israelites. You are not allowed to appoint over you a foreigner who is not one of your fellow Israelites. That granted, the king must not acquire too many horses, and he must not return the people to Egypt in order to acquire more horses, because the Lord told you: “You will never go back by that road again.” The king must not take numerous wives so that his heart doesn’t go astray. Nor can the king acquire too much silver and gold. Instead, when he sits on his royal throne, he himself must write a copy of this Instruction on a scroll in the presence of the levitical priests. That Instruction must remain with him, and he must read in it every day of his life so that he learns to revere the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this Instruction and these regulations, by doing them, by not being overbearing toward his fellow Israelites, and by not deviating even a bit from the commandment. If the king does all that, he will ensure lasting rule in Israel for himself and for his successors.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading1 Peter 1:13-25

Therefore, once you have your minds ready for action and you are thinking clearly, place your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Don’t be conformed to your former desires, those that shaped you when you were ignorant. But, as obedient children, you must be holy in every aspect of your lives, just as the one who called you is holy. It is written, You will be holy, because I am holy. Since you call upon a Father who judges all people according to their actions without favoritism, you should conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your dwelling in a strange land. Live in this way, knowing that you were not liberated by perishable things like silver or gold from the empty lifestyle you inherited from your ancestors. Instead, you were liberated by the precious blood of Christ, like that of a flawless, spotless lamb. Christ was chosen before the creation of the world, but was only revealed at the end of time. This was done for you, who through Christ are faithful to the God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory. So now, your faith and hope should rest in God.

As you set yourselves apart by your obedience to the truth so that you might have genuine affection for your fellow believers, love each other deeply and earnestly. Do this because you have been given new birth—not from the type of seed that decays but from seed that doesn’t. This seed is God’s life-giving and enduring word. Thus,

All human life on the earth is like grass, and all human glory is like a flower in a field.The grass dries up and its flower falls off, but the Lord’s word endures forever.

This is the word that was proclaimed to you as good news.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticleThe Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Refrain: The Lord is risen from the tomb who for our sakes hung upon the tree. Alleluia.

Bless the Lord God of Israelbecause he has come to help and has delivered his people.He has raised up a mighty savior for us in his servant David’s house,just as he said through the mouths of his holy prophets long ago.He has brought salvation from our enemiesand from the power of all those who hate us.He has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,and remembered his holy covenant,the solemn pledge he made to our ancestor Abraham.He has granted that we would be rescuedfrom the power of our enemiesso that we could serve him without fear,in holiness and righteousness in God’s eyes,for as long as we live.You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.You will tell his people how to be savedthrough the forgiveness of their sins.Because of our God’s deep compassion,the dawn from heaven will break upon us,to give light to those who are sitting in darknessand in the shadow of death,to guide us on the path of peace.”

Luke 1:68-79

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain: The Lord is risen from the tomb who for our sakes hung upon the tree. Alleluia.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried;he descended to the dead.On the third day he rose again;he ascended into heaven,is seated at the right hand of the Father,and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers may be offered for:

the day and its tasksthe world and its needsthe church and her life

Prayers may include the following concerns:

The people of God, that they may proclaim the risen LordGod’s creation, that the peoples of the earth may meet their responsibility to careThose in despair and darkness, that they may find the hope and light of ChristThose in fear of death, that they may find faith through the resurrectionPrisoners and captives

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Lord, in your mercyhear our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,who through your only begotten Son Jesus Christhave overcome death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life:grant that, as by your grace going before us you put into our minds good desires,so by your continual helpwe may bring them to good effect;through Jesus Christ our risen Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and forever.Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Rejoicing in God’s new creation, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name,your kingdom come,your will be done,on earth as in heaven.Give us today our daily bread.Forgive us our sinsas we forgive those who sin against us.Lead us not into temptationbut deliver us from evil.For the kingdom, the power,and the glory are yoursnow and forever.Amen.